So far...

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Here's where I've been so far. I'm adding a lot of mileage tomorrow. That's a hint to check back later as well.

Durango, CO

Can I please tell you that I kinda love this city. It took me about 10 minutes to figure that out. The first thing you see when you come into town northbound on 550 is a huge park on a river with the mountains as the backdrop. So Gracie and I spent a few hours there hanging out with about 75-100 other people. It's a gorgeous, 65 degree day with clear blue skies. Did I mention I love this city so far?


I also feel it necessary to tell you that the drive from Albuquerque to Durango is nothing short of spectacular. The time flew by listening to Randy's cds and enjoying the scenery. I took Hwy 25 to 550. Here are some of the shots I was able to take from the car.

Did I take a wrong turn somewhere? CUBA?

Yo, Big Chiz, come play some golf

Mavs Playoffs are here!!!!

So I've holed up in a hotel tonight so that I can leave Lady Grace behind and go find the finest sports bar Albuquerque has to offer. I love this time of year when the NBA playoffs are starting. And don't even get me started on how exciting the Western Conference bracket is going to be. Cipro can take his lowly boston celtics and pretty much be assured they'll make the finals, but no Western Conference team even has a guarantee out of the first round. Ridiculous.

Here's the best Mavs/NO preview that I've seen, thanks to my main man Mike Fisher. If you like the Mavericks, you should add him to your list of daily reads.

Hopefully we'll see Dirk do his best Elliott Richards impression.


GO MAVS!!!!

Albuquerque

I've made it to Albuquerque! This is good because I did think about turning around a few times yesterday, and once this morning.

The rain and cold and camping killed my spirits yesterday. Here is some snow if you don't believe how cold it was.




But I made it through the night and woke up to a beautiful, but still cold, morning. It was awesome waking up out in nature and seeing the sunrise. I have decided that no matter where I live, the backyard must have a view that includes either the sunrise or sunset.

These good feelings lasted through the packing of the tent...



And then it came time to leave....or not. The Expedition did not make it through the night. The battery was completely dead. Mark this as lesson number three, don't charge your laptop in the car. Now, the inverter that I bought says it is specifically made for laptops to be charged in the car, but I suppose my Mac is special.

Who would have known my brand spanking new AAA membership would come in handy so quickly. They were able to jump me and test the battery to make sure all was good, and I was off.

Lady Grace is doing great. She is terrific in the car and has adapted to being on the move a lot. Pictures of her are coming as soon as the uploader cooperates.

Well here we go

All my stuff in the back of the car

As I type this, I am sitting in Tucumcari, NM. I just arrived in New Mexico today. I stopped in Amarillo, TX last night since it was starting to get dark. I only had a 2-hour drive today to get here.

A West Texas dirt twister

I figured it would be a good idea to not spend most of today driving and instead spend most of today getting accustomed to the camping equipment. You see, I haven't actually camped since the Top Pop last took me in the early 90's. Freeland hooked me up nicely and I have the finest equipment one could hope to get for free. A great REI tent with all the cooking equipment I could possibly need. Even a sleeping bag and air mattress to help me through the night.



Ok, so all this brought about lesson one on the trip: don't camp when it's raining and freezing outside. I really wish I had picked another day to learn how to use the camping stuff. I did successfully get the tent set up, although it is wet inside. I'm sitting in my truck right now hoping the tent will dry out. Otherwise, I'm sleeping in the truck and will have put the tent up for nothing.

I also learned another lesson today. Don't buy too much at the grocery store. I swear I could live the next month off everything I bought today. Good idea? No, because I don't really have anywhere to put it.

I'm glad to be learning some of these lessons early in the trip. Hopefully it will only help the rest of the way. So I'm cold, freezing actually, and wet and bored and hungry. Life is good out on the road.